1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refuse compression apparatus for primarily household use for the purpose of reducing the volume of refuse with a low moisture content, such as paper and plastics refuse generated in the home, stores, and offices, by means of a simple operation using a device of simple construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For example, if cans, bottles, newspapers, and other recyclable refuse is removed from common household refuse, the remaining refuse can be classified in three categories: kitchen garbage such as food wastes, plastic packaging such as for food packaging, and miscellaneous non-recyclable paper. Kitchen garbage represents a very small percent of this total waste volume, and plastics and paper refuse are generally considered to account for over 90% of the total volume.
These wastes are typically processed centrally, by collecting refuse by sending garbage collection trucks around on a predetermined schedule to collect the trash, and then hauling it to a central processing facility for incineration or burial. It follows that each household must store this refuse in the home until the scheduled collection date, and must deliver the refuse to the scheduled pick-up place by the scheduled time.
Various devices and methods have been proposed to enable on-site (or nearby) processing of these wastes as a means of eliminating the inconveniences of following a fixed schedule. Once such method is the garbage disposal machine, which grinds kitchen wastes into particles small enough to wash down the drain with a flow of water. Other methods include thermal combustion methods using a heater, freezing methods to prevent unpleasant odors, and microwave heating combustion methods. Each of these methods is intended for raw kitchen garbage, however, and cannot be easily adapted for reducing the volume of plastics and paper refuse from the home.
In addition, individual garbage disposal machines used in the home mechanically reduce wastes to be flushed down the drain. This greatly increases the solid and organic waste load in household waste water, increasing the pollution of rivers and lakes with all incumbent social side effects. The tendency today, therefore, is to prohibit the use of such garbage disposal machines around the world.
As a result, the most common method of processing garbage is to transfer it to the final waste processing plant, whether incineration plant, landfill, or other, by garbage collection truck. The waste transportation efficiency of these trucks is increased by compressing the trash in the truck as it is collected, but plastic wastes, including packaging and containers, are voluminous, increasing transportation costs and greatly increasing the necessary landfill area. While demand for recycling plastics has become strong in recent years, recycling costs must be reduced.
Various methods have been introduced for reducing the total volume of plastic wastes at the point of use as one means of reducing the collection cost, one of the biggest parts of the total recycling cost. These methods include both cutting and compression methods. Unfortunately, while both methods are fast, cutting results in minimal volume reduction for wastes other than containers, and available compression methods do not significantly reduce the volume and allow the compressed refuse to expand again unless it is first tied. Methods of waste reduction by heating are therefore more promising than cutting and simple compression because the total volume reduction rate is greatest, particularly with such plastics as polystyrene foam, and the potential economic benefits are therefore also greatest.
In these heating method refuse compression apparatuses, however, heat transfer to the center of polystyrene foam blocks and polyethylene plastics such as those used in trash bags is poor. These wastes must therefore be heated for a long period of time before all of the plastic is softened. Furthermore, if the heating temperature is raised to speed the softening process but is raised too much, the plastic wastes will begin to smoke, giving off foul odors, chloride compounds, and potentially toxic or harmful gases. High speed processing is therefore difficult, and yet low temperature processing results in the entire processing machine becoming soiled and difficult to clean.